Brushing Baby Teeth

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I couldn’t find a previous chat on this, so I wanted to ask about brushing babies’ teeth. My 10‑month‑old son suddenly got six teeth about a month ago (four on the top and two on the bottom). I haven’t started brushing them yet and I’m wondering if I should be. Is it too early for toothpaste, given that he wouldn’t know how to spit it out yet? Am I putting him at risk by not starting now? I’d love to hear what others have done. Thanks!

You should start brushing teeth as soon as they pop through with an age appropriate fluoride toothpaste, a smearing is all that’s required at this age. They won’t spit it out but that’s ok if using a small amount. Get a soft baby toothbrush from the shop and do it twice a day.

Ok thank you for your reply. The tricky thing will be cutting into his routine of having a bottle to get him to sleep. I’ll give it a go tonight.

My baby got his first teeth at 5 months old.

I can't do anything that resembles brushing, so give him the toothbrush to chew on for several minutes throughout the day. Luckily he likes the bristles and will bite into them/brush them around his gums.

he will have toothpaste on the brush and to chew before his last bottle. I asked at the dentist, and they said this was fine, better to start building a positive association with brushing teeth rather than it being an unpleasant experience twice a day!

Make sure you register at a dentist, you should be able to get your baby registered with the NHS quite easily.

Ohh that’s such great advice, thank you 🙏🏻 I’ll give that a go to get him used to the brush. I was also thinking of just pretending to brush at night (no paste, and still give him milk after) to make it part of his evening routine, and then I’ll try your tip with paste in the morning.
@Goldpanther